Unit 8- Motivation, Emotion, Personality

Motivation

The process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors.

Instinct

An innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to specific stimuli.

Intrinsic Motivation

Engaging in behavior because it is personally rewarding.

Extrinsic Motivation

Engaging in behavior to earn a reward or avoid punishment.

Achievement Motivation

A desire to excel or outperform others.

Drive-reduction theory

The theory that motivation arises from the need to reduce internal tension caused by unmet biological needs.

Homeostasis

The tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state.

Incentive

An external stimulus that motivates behavior.

Yerkes-Dodson law

The principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases.

Hierarchy of needs

Maslow's theory proposing that human needs are organized in a hierarchy, starting from basic physiological needs.

Glucose

A simple sugar that is an important energy source in living organisms.

Set point

The body's natural weight range, which it adjusts to maintain.

Basal metabolic rate

The rate at which the body uses energy while at rest.

Emotion

A complex psychological state that involves a subjective experience, a physiological response, and a behavioral or expressive response.

James-Lange theory

The theory that emotions arise from physiological arousal.

Cannon-Bard theory

The theory that the physiological and emotional responses to a stimulus occur simultaneously.

Two-factor theory

The theory that emotion is based on two factors: physiological arousal and cognitive labeling.

Polygraph

A device that measures physiological responses to determine truthfulness.

Facial feedback effect

The tendency of facial muscle states to trigger corresponding emotions.

Health psychology

The study of how biological, social, and psychological factors influence health and illness.

Stress

A physical and emotional response to challenging or threatening situations.

General adaptation syndrome

The three-stage response the body has to stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Tend and befriend response

A behavioral response to stress primarily seen in women, characterized by seeking social connections.

Psychophysiological illness

Physical disorders that are exacerbated by psychological factors.

Psychoneuroimmunology

The study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems.

Coronary heart disease

A condition caused by the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries.

Type A

A personality type characterized by high levels of competitiveness, drive, and impatience.

Type B

A personality type characterized by a more relaxed, laid-back, and less aggressive approach.

Personality

An individual's characteristic pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Free association

A therapeutic technique in psychoanalysis where patients speak freely about their thoughts, feelings, and memories.

Psychoanalysis

A method of treating psychological disorders by exploring the unconscious mind, developed by Sigmund Freud.

Unconscious

The part of the mind that contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are not accessible to conscious awareness.

Id

The primitive and instinctive component of personality in Freudian theory, representing basic drives.

Ego

The rational part of personality that mediates between the id and the superego.

Superego

The part of the personality that represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment.

Psychosexual stages

Freud's theory of childhood stages of development, each characterized by different erotic focus.

Oedipus complex

A child's feelings of desire for their opposite-sex parent and jealousy toward their same-sex parent.

Identification

A psychological process in which an individual adopts the characteristics of another person.

Fixation

A lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage.

Defense mechanisms

Psychological strategies used by the ego to protect itself from anxiety arising from unacceptable thoughts.

Repression

A defense mechanism that involves burying unwanted thoughts and feelings in the unconscious.

Psychodynamic theories

Theories of personality that emphasize the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences.

Collective unconscious

Carl Jung's concept of a part of the unconscious mind that is shared among all human beings.

Projective tests

Personality assessment tools that use ambiguous stimuli to elicit responses that reveal inner thoughts.

Thematic apperception test

A projective test that asks individuals to create stories about ambiguous images.

Rorschach inkblot test

A projective psychological test consisting of inkblots to analyze an individual's personality.

False consensus effect

The tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.

Terror-management theory

A psychological theory exploring how individuals cope with the fear of death.

Humanistic theories

Approaches to psychology that emphasize personal growth and the concept of self-actualization.

Self-actualization

The realization or fulfillment of one's talents and potential, considered the ultimate goal in personal development.

Unconditional positive regard

An accepting, non-judgmental attitude that facilitates personal growth in psychotherapy.

Self-concept

A person's sense of their own identity and personal worth.

Trait

A characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, assessed by self-report inventories.

Personality inventory

A questionnaire designed to gauge a wide range of psychological constructs, including personality traits.

MMPI

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; a widely used standardized psychometric test for personality assessment.

Empirically derived

A term used for tests or studies that are based on observation and evidence.

Social cognitive perspective

A psychological viewpoint that emphasizes the role of observational learning, social experience, and reciprocal determinism.

Behavioral approach

A perspective in psychology that focuses on observable behavior rather than internal mental states.

Reciprocal determinism

The concept that a person's behavior is influenced by their environment and personal factors.

Positive psychology

A branch of psychology that focuses on the positive aspects of human experience.

Self

The individual's awareness of their own personal identity and existence.

Spotlight effect

The belief that others are paying more attention to our appearance and behavior than they really are.

Self-esteem

An individual's subjective evaluation of their own worth.

Self-efficacy

Belief in one's ability to succeed and accomplish tasks.

Self-serving bias

The tendency to attribute positive events to one's own character but attribute negative events to external factors.

Narcissism

Excessive self-focus and self-admiration, often characterized by a sense of entitlement.

Individualism

A social theory that emphasizes the moral worth of the individual over the group.

Collectivism

A cultural value that emphasizes the importance of the group and one's social obligations